A Day At The Beach, Karaoke, And More!

Hey everyone!

So I have lots of stories from today to tell you about. Today was our first class "excursion". We went by train to Camogli, a small fishing village about 40 minutes away from Genova.

Our Italian guide, kind of our foster mom while we're here, told us that Camogli is actually short in Italian for "Home of the Wives". Basically, back in the old days, Camogli was a very important fishing town. So all the fishermen would leave for the day and leave their wives at home. The wives build their homes on the coast in a bunch of bright colors so that their husbands would always know which town on the coast was their home. Camogli is famous for its bright buildings on the coast even now. Here's a picture:

Anyway, after we got to Camogli, we caught a ferry to a place called the Pirate's Den. Giulliana told us that the Pirate's Den (it has another name in Italian but I can't remember it, let alone spell it) is a small cove nestled in the Ligurian coast. There aren't any roads that lead to it; you can only get to it by boat. A long time ago, a famous noble family bought the cove. They built tall towers so they could see any enemies approaching and since the sea was the only way to reach the cove, it was really easy to keep the family safe. Before the noble family bought it, pirates used to stash their ships in the cove to hide them. Here's a picture of the cove:

 This is a picture of the cove as we were approaching. You can see the tower to keep an eye out for enemies, and also the castle/monastery that sits on the beach.

This is a picture of the cove itself. The water is crystal blue and completely clear. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. 

We spent most of the day on the beach (which is all pebbles, by the way. No sand.), sunbathing and swimming. Although the water was beautiful, it was SO COLD. It took my breath away when I jumped in the first time. You can kind of see it in the picture above, but we actually did a little cliff jumping while we were there. We saw some Italian kids doing it and thought, "Why not?" So we spent most of the day with a water-proof camera, jumping off the cliff and videoing ourselves and each other. When I get a copy of that video, maybe I'll post it here. :) 

We also got pizza at a small restaurant that looked out over the cove. My first real Italian pizza, and it was delicious! I wish I had a picture to show you but I ate it too fast. 

Here are a few more pictures:

After we were finished at the beach, we caught the ferry back to Camogli and got some gelato before we headed home. Everyone took a siesta (when in Italy, do as the Italians do) and took a nap and relaxed for a while, then we headed out again. We wanted to go to a little cafe that Giulliana knows that plays live music on Wednesday nights, but they were closed. So we wandered around and found a small Turkish restaurant that served kabobs. Although they weren't kabobs like you're thinking. They were actually wraps and they had lamb and beef and french fries and this weird spicy sauce in them. They were pretty good! 

While we were standing outside eating our kabobs, the owner/chef of the restaurant was standing in the doorway, watching us and making sure we were enjoying it. Then these two other guys came up and were mad that we were standing in their way, so they rudely elbowed through us and said something mean in some foreign language (Giulliana said it wasn't Italian.). They tried to get into the Turkish restaurant but the owner/chef wouldn't let them in. An argument ensued and it got REALLY heated. The owner/chef and his coworker ended up forcing the other two guys to leave. Giulliana told us that the owner/chef had told the other guys that we were his customers and it was rude to treat us that way and refused to give them service. We thanked the Turkish restaurant workers before we left. 

To end the night, we ended up at a karaoke bar. I ordered this weird drink called a lolla (non-alcoholic; I checked) with some foreign fruit. It was really strong, but really delicious. We listened to the Italians karaoke, and I have to say, they don't karaoke like they do in the states. Everyone who got up to sing was AMAZING. They all had these beautiful voices. And I have to say, there's something sexy about an Italian man singing. (Sorry Grady!!) Even if the Italian man is in his 40s and balding. Haha! 

Anyway, that was my eventful day today!! Tomorrow is our last official day of class, so from here on out, it's hard work all the way! We have 2 weeks to get our films done and ready to be shown. Ahhh! 

Thanks for reading, everyone! Sorry for the super long post. I just had a lot to say about today. 

Arrividerci! Ciao ciao!